News in brief: Rising stocks

The Sunday Times

Sunday June 09 2013, 1.01am, The Sunday Times

The Sunday Times

Sunday June 09 2013, 1.01am, The Sunday Times

Tenants on the lookout for a home to rent in prime central London now have more choice. Increased buy-to-let investment pushed up the amount of rental stock by 26.2% in the first quarter of the year compared with the same period in 2012, according to analysts at Lonres.com. For properties let for less than £500 a week, stock rose by more than 33%.

The government’s new Help to Buy scheme is causing experts to rethink their house-price forecasts. Knight Frank previously predicted that prices across the country would fall by 2% in 2013, but this week it will publish revised forecasts showing growth of 3%. “Help to Buy will provide support for mainstream house prices this year,” says Grainne Gilmore, the agency’s head of UK